The Misadventures of the Brothers D
by Veronica The Mischievous
Summary: Just a fic about some of the mishapes Ace and Luffy may have gotten into while growing up. Rating may change in future, possible MILD AxL and there are some spoilers...Enjoy!
1. Life with Grampa: part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from One Piece!

VTM: X3 Oi! Veronica The Mischievous here, this is my first One Piece fic, so please don't be too hard on me…I love Luffy and Ace! XD They're so awesome! So I wanted to try to write a story of some of their misadventures when they were kids. I hope you'll enjoy!

**WARNING**: There are some **major** spoilers ahead, if you haven't read the latest installment of One Piece you might get confused….

---

Young Portgas D. Ace was laying in a grassy field peaceful snoozing away the day, that or had another narcoleptic episode. A warm gentle breeze brushed his hair against his face, tickling his nose.

"Achoo!" Ace sat up wiping his nose. Blinking he pondered where he was for a moment, but with a shrug he laid back down on his bed of fresh green and rested his head on his folded arms. Being here was much better than being around his crackpot Grandfather. As he stared up at the sky, feeling the gentle warmth of the sun, and watching the occasional fluffy cloud roam by, he slowly began to drift back to sleep.

"Put me down Gramps!" shouted the voice of a little boy that couldn't have been older than five.

"Nope!" said the voice of a gruff old man. "This is part of your training for the marines…your lazy brother may have escaped again, but you'll be laughing at him when you end up being his commanding officer!"

" but I dun wanna!!!" little boy yelled defiantly.

"Hmph…looks like Gramps is giving Luffy a hard time again…."Ace mumbled. After a good few minutes something finally clicked in the boy's head which made him go pale. "AH! GRAMPS HAS LUFFY!" Ace then ran like a mad man after them.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!" A little boy cried, he was tied to a very large balloon.

"Oh come now Luffy…" Garp said as he made a secure knot. "This will be good for you…It'll build character…and…..uh……………Character!"

"But you already said that…" little Luffy said with a snivel.

"Trust me! You'll thank me when you're older and hunting down pirate scum!"

Luffy just gave another snivel and a confused blink.

"Up you go!" Garp then let go of the balloon and little Luffy was sent floating away.

"Whaaaaaa!!!!" Luffy cried as he floated off.

"LUFFY!!!!" Ace cried, as he finally arrived.

"Ah, Ace, finally come to your senses? Good, you're next…"

Ace looked up at Garp and pointed an accusing finger at him. "What did you do ya old fart!" he shouted angrily.

"WHO'S AN OLD FART?" the old man shouted. "Watch you're mouth Ace!"

"Gramps you nut case! You're going to get my little brother killed!" Ace then dashed off, but he didn't very far, another narcoleptic fit kicked in and he promptly fell face flat on the ground.

Garp stood their blinking for a moment before sighing. "You're so hopeless…" But he spoke too soon though, for right after that he too found himself in the same position.

-Later…-

It was now sunset. Ace woke up to find himself face flat on the ground. Shooting up to his feet he stood for a moment until he suddenly remembered what he was doing. "Luffy!" He then made a mad sprint in the direction he last saw the balloon floating in.

It wasn't long before the night had finally fallen, Ace was still searching for his little brother. Suddenly something caught his attention. It was the sound of someone crying. Following the whimpers and snivels Ace found himself searching by a huge old oak tree.

"Stupid Gramps!" he said in frustration. "Luffy! Where are you?"

"A-Ace…" said a whimpering voice from above.

Looking up, Ace's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at what he saw. Dangling from the branches helplessly, still tied up in the rope that had held him to the balloon was poor little Luffy. Tears streamed down his face as he burst out crying again.

"I'll get you down…" Ace said as he began to climb the tree. When he reached the branch that the balloon rope was tangled up on, he lifted his poor dangling brother up onto the branch and began to untie him. "You okay?" he asked.

Luffy suddenly clung to his savior, his small frame shaking as sobs escaped him. Ace sighed hugged his little brother back, they stayed up in the tree for a while. Eventually Luffy's crying subsided.

"Ace…can we get down now?" there was no answer. Luffy looked up at his big brother only to find that he had another narcoleptic fit and was now snoring away. Luffy couldn't help but laugh, his brother was so weird. He then reached out and popped the little bubble that was coming out of his brother's nose.

Pop!

"Huh?" Ace said as he suddenly woke up.

Luffy began to laugh even harder.

Ace couldn't help but smile, it was good to see his brother back to his happy self. "So, shall we get down from here now?"

Luffy nodded and held tight to his brother. Ace then began to climb back down to safety. As soon as they were close enough to the ground Ace hopped off of the tree and set Luffy down.

"Ace, I'm hungry!" Luffy said with his usual goofy grin.

Ace gave a sigh. Oh well, he was hungry too, and it was getting late. Taking his little brother's hand the two began to walk back to their house.

The two were pretty quiet as they made their way back, but after a while Luffy broke the silence. "Ace, why does Gramps pick on us so much? Doesn't he have other people he can play with?"

"Hmph…He wants us to joins the marines like him…" Ace scoffed, detesting the very idea.

Luffy stuck his tongue out in distaste. "It can't be fun if Gramps makes us do this stuff…"

"Well…I'm not going to be a marine!"

Luffy cocked his head to the side, looking like a curious puppy. "Really? Then what?"

Ace gave a proud smirk. "I'm going to be a pirate!"

Luffy gave a confused blink. "Pirate?"

"Yep! But you can't tell Gramps!" Ace said while pressing a finger to Luffy's lips. "This'll be our secret!" Ace gave a wide grin, obviously pleased with himself for some reason.

Luffy just gave another blink, he then grinned and gave a nod. "Okay Ace!"

"And one day I'll take you with me!" Ace continued. "Then we won't have to deal with crazy old Gramps anymore…"

"Yay!" Luffy said as he pumped his free hand into the air.

The brothers laughed, but that laughter was short lived for not too far ahead of them stood Garp, big grin plastered on his face.

"Good, you're both back! Just in time for part two of your training!"

Luffy hid behind his brother while Ace paled.

"P-part t-two?" they said at the same time.

"Yep! You're going to spend the night in the woods!" Garp explained.

Both boys looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Gramps….there are dangerous animals that come out at night…" Ace said flatly. Gramps couldn't be serious. "They'll be picking their teeth with our bone by morning…"

Luffy whined and clutched onto his brother tighter.

"Trust me! It'll give you strength! It'll help you two on your path to become marines!" Garp then gave a long triumphant laugh.

"Gramps is scary…" Luffy said quietly.

"I know Luffy…I know…" Ace's eyebrow twitched. _'Why the heck doesn't anyone call child services…?'_

----

VTM: There's chapter 1! Again this is my first fic for One Piece, so please, no flames people…And if anyone has suggestions for funny trouble these two can get into please tell me I'd love to hear them! And as a warning there might be some slight hints of Ace/Luffy once in a while. Thanks for reading, now I need to get to brainstorming the next chapter…See ya!


	2. Life with Grampa: part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from One Piece.

VTM: Wow, I didn't quite expect that positive of a reaction….Thank you reviewers! XD

victoria: XD Yay! First reviewer! Thanks for reading and I'm glad you liked it so far!

TrunksgirlBlaze27: XD Glad to hear I got Garp's personality down right…Thanks for reading!

Shini-kotora: I'm glad this fic made you laugh, I was afraid didn't put enough comedy into it…

A happy reader: Sweet! Thanks for reading! And there's more to come!

Spellcaster Hikaru: Yeah Revolutionist is right. XD To be honest, I don't really know weather they're half brothers, but when you think about it, does it matter? Ace and Luffy rock! But I don't think Shanks was the friend Garp was referring too when he mentioned giving up Ace and Luffy to a friend for a while…Thanks for reading! XD You rule!

VTM: You guys are great! And here is Chapter 2! It's Show time!

---

"Ace…I'm hungry…" Luffy said as his brother carried him on his back. Both boys were covered in nicks and scratches and were very tired. They had spent the whole night running from wild animals.

'This was worse than that time Gramps threw Luffy off that cliff…' Ace thought as he remembered the incident.

-Flash back, one year ago-

"Gramps! What are you doing to Luffy!" Ace shouted with his mouth agape and eyes wide as plates.

Garp was holding Luffy by the back of his shirt over the edge of a cliff. "It'll teach him endurance!" Garp said with a triumphant grin.

"It'll split his head open you ninny!" Ace corrected him. "Are you totally brain dead or something?"

"Ace! Don't talk to your grandfather that way!" Garp shouted.

"Is this because me and Ace found all those weird picture books under your bed yesterday?" Luffy innocently said with a confused blink.

"Luffy!" Ace flailed his arms in panic.

Garp blinked. "Picture books…?" After thinking about it, Garp's jaw suddenly dropped in shock and he unwittingly let go of Luffy.

"LUFFY!" Without thinking Ace leapt after his poor, now bruised up little brother.

-End of Flash back…-

Ace's eyebrow twitched at that memory. "Stupid Gramps…" he mumbled.

"Ace…" Luffy whined.

"I know, you're hungry, don't worry, we'll be home soon…" he said reassuringly. Then suddenly everything went black.

-Later…-

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Garp got up and answered the door, standing at his door was a farmer and in each arm was Luffy and Ace.

Garp blinked, a little surprised.

"Uh, hey Garp…I found your grandsons face flat in the road…" he said worriedly. "Is everything okay? Ace I can understand…but Luffy?"

Two loud growls that would rival a sea serpent gurgled from the two boys.

Plucking the boys from the farmer Garp gave an apologetic bow. "Er…sorry…Just training these boys to be strong men!"

"Riiiiiiiight…" the farmer said skeptically. 'Why hasn't anyone called child services on this guy?' Without another thought the farmer walked off.

Garp set the boys down. "So, how was your camping experience?"

"You call that camping?" Ace said in a flat tone.

"I'm hungry!" Luffy whined.

"I'll start breakfast…" Ace said with a sigh. "Come on Luffy, let's leave Mr. Crazy alone…"

"Hey!"

Ace, even though he was only eight, was used to making breakfast for him and his brother. Grandpa always said that 'a man has to be independent even when young!' "Bacon, right?" he asked his little brother, giving a smile.

"Yeah! Meat!" Luffy said with a big grin.

"Oi! Can I have some too?" Garp asked.

Both Luffy and Ace gave him glares that could freeze a penguin.

"………Okaaaaaay….I'm good…." Garp then began to munch on a doughnut. 'Wonder what their problem is…'

Soon the three of them were seated at the table scarfing down their food as if they hadn't eaten in days.

"So…you two learn anything?" Garp asked.

Ace's eyebrow twitched. "……………No."

Luffy shrugged. "That Gramps is still angry about that time we found his picture books?"

Ace and Garp's eyes went wide and they began to choke on their food.

Luffy clapped his hands and began to laugh as though he were watching a pair of circus clowns.

Thud!

"Huh?" Luffy blinked.

Both Garp and Ace were now face down in their food.

"Aw, this game again…?" Luffy said with a sigh. "Okay…" He then mimicked them and did a face plant into his own food. "ut thi ame ets oring…" he said with his mouth full of food. (he said: But this game gets boring)

After a while Ace and Garp snapped out of their sleep, only to find their plates empty. Completely puzzled they gave each other suspicious looks. "Luffy…" they said in unison. They looked over only to find the young boy's chair empty.

Ace sighed. "Now where did he go?" he got up from his seat and went to look for him.

"You baby that boy too much…" Garp said suddenly.

"Yeah, well he's still little and if I don't then who will? You?" Ace said with a bit of sarcasm.

Garp let that remark slide as he went to look for more doughnuts.

Ace roamed though the house until he finally spotted Luffy in his room. He was sprawled out on his bed snoring lightly, blankets half covering him. Poor kid must have been exhausted from the night before. Ace smiled a little, he then walked over and covered his brother with the blanket. With that Ace was ready about to walk away, but Luffy had somehow grabbed hold of Ace's hand in his sleep, and held onto it as if it were some priceless treasure. Ace could only smile.

------

VTM: Sorry that this chapter is shorter and if the characters are a little OOC…anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I might need a little help with the next one…so if any have any suggestion I'd love to hear them! Please R&R! And please, no flames! Thank you! XD


	3. Chance Encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from One Piece.

TrunksgirlBlaze27: Thank you very much! I'm glad your enjoying the fic!

firefistACE888888: Heh, heh, heh, Ace and Luffy found Garp's secret stash…lol! Glad to hear you got a kick out of that gag! Thanks for reading! XD

Victoria and Trixiebell: Thank you both so much! You gave me the inspiration I needed for this chapter! XD

Kahalewai: Thanks!

Raptor the Predator: I'm glad that the joke went well, at first, I wasn't sure if people were going to find it all that funny…Thank you!

Zenfry: Er, eh, heh, sorry if Ace seemed a little OC, I just personally think that he'll baby someone if necessary, and with a crazy grandpa like Garp, you know Luffy will probably deserves to be babied once in a while…I'm glad you like this fic, thanks a lot for reading!

VTM: XD Alright! You guys all rock! Now for a quick warning or two, there are spoilers ahead! So if you don't know who Luffy's dad is yet, and don't like spoilers then please turn back…with that said, let's get this show on the road! (give a peace sign)

---

"Ace! Come on! Play with me!" Luffy almost whined as he tugged on his brother's shirt. "Pleeeease?"

The two siblings were outside, Ace was trying to chop wood, not exactly very successfully, but was trying all the same.

Ace swung down the hatchet and sighed. "No Luffy, we have chores to do…"

"Aw, but Gramps isn't watching!" Luffy pointed out. They could see the back of Garp's head from the window, the marine was asleep sitting at the table.

Ace tried to think of a way to get Luffy to wait a little longer. Suddenly an idea popped in his head. "Haven't you heard?"

Luffy blinked confusedly. "Heard what?"

"Some people says Gramps has eyes in the back of his head!" Ace whispered.

"Nuh uh!" Luffy said while shaking his head. "That's not true! Watch!" Luffy sprinted over to the window and started making funny faces at the back of Garp's head.

Ace blinked, maybe his brother was smarter than he thought.

"QUIT IT YOU LITTLE RAPSCALION!" Garp shouted in his sleep, frightening Luffy beyond belief.

With a yelp of surprise Luffy quickly ran back to his brother.

"Ace! Get back to work!"

Ace blinked with surprise. Damn, the old man was better than he thought, maybe he really did have eyes in the back of his head. "Say Luffy, why don't you help me out by finding some sticks and stuff…" Ace suggested.

"Okay!" Luffy said with his goofy grin. He then headed towards the woods.

"Oi!" Ace called after him. "Don't go too far in there! I don't want to have to go in after you and save you butt!"

Luffy gave him a cheeky giggle and grin, he then turned around and headed into the forest.

Ace sighed and shook his head. He then continued to chop wood.

Luffy wandered about the forest picking up twigs and sticks wherever he found them. After a while Luffy stopped in his tracks and took a good moment to study his surroundings. "……………………………Ace?" Luffy said worriedly. "Ace?" he called out a little louder, hoping that his brother would hear and come looking for him. Luffy continued to wonder about the woods, hoping to find his way back home.

Thack!

Thunk!

Ace wiped the sweat from his brow. Taking a deep breath he gave a relieved sigh looking proudly at the pile of brutally mangled pieces of wood. "Hope Luffy's okay…" Setting the hatchet on the ground Ace ran off to try to find his little brother.

After a good twenty minutes Ace hadn't seen hide nor hair of his impish brother and was now very worried. "Luffy!!!!" he called out. Ace listened carefully for a reply; but there was none. "This…is very bad…"

Meanwhile, Luffy continued to make his way through the forest, suddenly he tripped over a big tree root and fell flat on his face next to a dirt path. "Ow…" he whined as he sat up, rubbing the red mark on his face. Luffy held back any tears that tried to escape his eyes as he remembered his brother once telling him that men don't cry. Just then, his ears picked up a sound, footsteps! Luffy looked up excitedly, Ace finally found him! "Ace!" he cried happily. But his smile quickly faded, it wasn't Ace.

"Luffy!!!!!!" Ace called as he made his way through the woods. Taking another moment to listen, he finally got a reply.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Ace's eyes went wide and heart skipped a beat. That was Luffy! Running as quickly as he could, Ace rushed through the forest, he nearly tripped over a root. Steadying himself he noticed a small pile of sticks scattered by the dirt road. A chill went through Ace, he looked around for any trace of his brother, and then, he saw them. Not too far down the road was a figure dressed in a green cloak, hood over his head, following him, being lead by the hand, was Luffy. On pure panicked instinct, Ace rushed after them. "HEY!" he cried out. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH MY BROTHER!"

Luffy looked back and a wide grin spread across his face. "Ace!!!"

But the cloaked figure quickly knelt down to Ace's height, held out a hand, and knocked the charging boy on him bum.

"Ow…" Ace moaned as he tried to stand up.

"Did you say that you're this boy's brother?" the figure asked, it was a man, with a voice that sent shivers up both boys' spines.

"Yeah! He's my big brother Ace!" Luffy said proudly.

Ace looked up at them, he then noticed that Luffy had a band aid on the side of his forehead.

"Sorry for the misunderstanding…you're brother here tripped and I went over to help…I guess I gave him quite a scare…" The cloaked man said with a slight, cold laugh.

Ace got back on his feet and looked up at the man suspiciously, he couldn't see his face due to the shadow from the hood, but he could still feel the man's stare borrowing into him. "Thanks…for helping my little brother…" Ace said carefully. "But I can take him home from here…" He then reached out and took Luffy's free hand. "Come on Luffy…"

But the cloaked man still held onto Luffy's other hand. "Wait…"

Ace frowned while Luffy looked a little nervous as he tried to get his arm free from the man's grip.

"Would you happen to know a Monkey D. Garp?" The Cloaked man asked.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy said cheerfully, suddenly forgetting that he was nervous.

Conk!

"Ouch!" Luffy nursed the bump on his head that Ace had just given him.

"Luffy! Don't tell your name to strangers!!!" Ace shouted angrily, while waving his arms franticly.

The Cloaked man laughed. "I see…Do you think you can take me to him?" he asked smoothly, the hint of coldness remained in his voice. "There's…something personal I need to talk to him about…"

"You know gramps?" Luffy said with a confused blink.

"Yes…I do…" the man trailed off. "We've known each other…for a very long time…"

Although Ace didn't like it, they did as the man asked and led him to their house.

"Gramps!" he called as he and Luffy went inside. "Gramps! Someone's here to talk to you!"

Garp, who was sitting in a chair in the den, quickly put away one of his 'picture books' under the chair cushion and rose from his seat. "Oh, uh…really?" he said while trying to regain his composure.

"……………………Pervert." Ace said flatly.

"WHO'S A PERVERT!?" Garp yelled.

Luffy hid behind his unfazed brother.

"Just wait till you're grown up! Then we'll see who's the pervert!" Garp pointed out.

Ace stuck his tongue out at the marine. "Nyaaaah!"

Garp growled. "So…who wants to speak with me?" he finally asked.

"Some weird guy that's standing outside, he said it was important…" Ace said plainly. Just then he felt a tug at his clothes. Looking down Ace noticed Luffy looking up at him with a pleading look.

"Ace…I'm hungry…"

Ace smiled and ruffled Luffy's hair. "Okay, I'll get dinner started…"

"Yay!" Luffy raised his hands up in joy. "Meat!"

Ace couldn't help but laugh. He left for the kitchen, Luffy following close behind.

Garp waiting until the two were busy, he then went outside. "So I take it you're the one that needed to speak with me…" he said as he walked over to the cloaked man.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" The cloaked man moved his hood just enough so the old marine could see his face.

Garp's eyes widened slightly. "……Hmph……Dragon."

A smirk spread across the revolutionary's face. "Nice to see you too…father…" he gave a slight chilling laugh. "I see my boys are getting quite big…"

"Hmph…taking an interest in them now?"

"You could say that…" Dragon said smoothly.

"………What are you up to now…?"

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen…

"Is it done?" Luffy asked curiously, trying to climb up on his brother so he could get a better look.

"Ow! Luffy! Cut it out!"

"But I want to see!"

"Hey! Watch it! I'm gonna-" Ace and Luffy then fell over. "Luffy!" Ace said irritated.

But Luffy could only laugh, and as they say, laughter is contagious, Ace soon found himself laughing along with his goofball brother.

Then suddenly the door burst open and Garp stormed in. "PACK YOUR THINGS!"

"Eh?" both boys said blinking at their grandpa confusedly.

Garp looked down at them. "I said, pack your things, quickly! Now go! On the double!"

Without question the boys did as they were told. Half an hour later Garp was practical shoving them towards the docks at the local pier.

"Gramps…?" Ace said looking up at Garp unsurely. "Where are we going…?"

"**You** are going to Fuschia Village!"

The D. brothers only blinked at Garp's words.

"You're…not coming with us?" Ace asked.

"Nope! I have to stay here, in case my services are needed…" Garp took a letter out of his pocket and handed to Ace. "Here, give this to the mayor of the town…It's important so don't lose it!" Garp then led them to the boat that would take them to their destination.

Once on board Ace and Luffy looked over the side of the railing and saw as the ship slowly began to move, They could also see Garp watching them as they left.

_'Hmph…Dragon…I'm not going to let you get your hands on those boys…I refuse to have them end up like you…'_ Garp sighed. _'I know those two will miss me but this is for the best…'_

"Yay! We're free!!!" both boys sang out with joy.

Garp's jaw dropped to the ground.

And so, the brothers D. were on their way to Fuschia Village, what was in store for them there, they did not know, but as long as they were together they'd be ready for it.

----

VTM: There's chapter 3! This was a really hard one to write, I had to improvise a lot so I hope it's not too bad…(sweat drop) Anyway, as a little side note, I've been coming up with other story ideas recently, but they need a lot of work…if anyone is interested in hearing about them, giving an opinion or whatever check out my forum (VTM's Ace and Luffy Corner). Other than that I hope you enjoyed this chapter, in the next one, we just might meet up with Shanks if things go well! XD R&R! And please, no flames!


	4. The name’s Shanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from One Piece.

trixiebell: Thanks, I'm happy you like my writing, thanks for reading!

Chrissy: XD Thanks!

TrunksgirlBlaze27: Yep, he's one of my faves too so how can I leave him out? Rock on Shanks! XD

Victoria: I'm glad that got a kick out of the ending, I wanted to give it a little something that would make the reader laugh, and so I turned to comedy's old friend irony…XD Thanks for reading!

firefistACE888888: Wow, that joke did better than I thought it would, everyone loves the ending! XD Lol! Glad I could make you laugh!

Raptor the Predator: Yeeeeesssss…psycho grandpa…(gets an image of Garp playing the killer in the shower scene of 'Psycho') O.o; Oooookaaaaaay……that's disturbing.

Ace and Luffy: (look at VTM) You're weird….

VTM: XD Thanks for reading!

shini-kotora: Happy to hear you liked the third chapter, hope you'll enjoy this one!

Spellcaster Hikaru: LOL!!! XD Closet pervert! I thought the graphic magazine gag would have been a nice touch, it got a good reaction so I'm happy…Ah yes, our favorite narcoleptic is a mystery indeed…XD Thanks for reading!

VTM: No real warnings for this one, there might be some instances where there might be OOC-ness but other than that, nothing really, enjoy!

---

It was morning, Ace gave a long yawn, sitting up he noticed he wasn't alone. Luffy must have snuck into bed with him last night. "Figures…" he said with a slight laugh. Luffy was sound asleep with his arms wrapped around his big brother. Ace didn't mind this, he was used to it actually. It had been a year since they came to Fuschia Village, the mayor was a friend of their grandpa's and after reading the letter Ace was told to give they were given a small house to live in.

-Flash back..-

Ace and Luffy blinked as they stared at the rickety old thing.

"Well, this is where you two will be staying." said the mayor.

"……………………It looks like it's going to fall apart at any second…" Ace said flatly.

"Well, Garp said he wanted you two to live by yourselves…something about building character…"

Ace's eyebrow twitched. _'Grr...the stupid old fart tortures us even when we're away from home…'_

"Oh well, at least you two will have a roof over your heads…" the mayor said reassuringly.

"More like on our heads…" Ace mumbled.

"It'll be okay, we'll help fix her up a bit…but until then, you'll just have to make due with what you got…"

-end of flash back…-

Ace sighed. A strong wind blew outside, cause parts of the house to groan and creek. Sometimes Luffy would get scared by the noises at night, or would get strange nightmares and would come running to his big brother. Ace ruffled his hair a little.

Luffy grinned in his sleep and mumbled something.

Ace then grinned mischievously. "Luffy…time for breakfast…"

Luffy shot right up and looked around room. "Food?"

Ace couldn't help but laugh, he got up from the bed and stretched. "Okay bro, I'll get breakfast started…"

"Yay!" Luffy cheered.

"But you have to go to Makino's and pick up a few things…"

"Aw…" Luffy said with a huff.

"Sorry, but you gotta stay out of trouble while I cook…" Ace said with a grin. "You little imp!"

"Nyah!" Luffy stuck his tongue out at Ace, who handed him a list of items.

"Now go on and hurry up…"

It didn't take Luffy long to reach Makino's bar, upon entering Luffy noticed a few marines scattered about the tables, drinking, swapping stories, or having a good laugh.

"Oi! Did ya hear? Red haired Shanks is said to have been spotted sailing around these parts…" said one marine.

"No way, what would a pirate like him be doing around a place like this…?" said a second.

"Don't know, but I'm not going after him!"

"True, that'd be suicide…I hear he's a wicked swordsman…"

Luffy could only blink. What were they talking about?

"Hi Luffy!" Makino said with a wave, snapping Luffy out of his thoughts.

"Makino!" Luffy gave a big grin. "Ace asked me to pick up some things!"

"Okay, Luffy…" Makino said with a slight giggle at the boy's cuteness. She took the list and went to the back.

Meanwhile, Luffy continued to watch the marines, he then turned to a pair of marines a tugged on one of their shirts. "………Who's Shanks?" he asked innocently.

The marine spat his drink all over his companion.

"Hey!" the alcohol covered marine shouted.

Luffy laughed and clapped his hands at the sight.

"Ya think that's funny ya little brat?" the marine growled.

"Yeah!" Luffy said with a nod.

The marine went red in the face. "Why you little…!"

The other marine stopped him before he could lay a hand on the little boy. "Oh come on, he doesn't know any better, he's just a kid…"

Luffy looked confused. "Who's Shanks?" he asked again.

"A pirate, a deadly one…" the marine explained. "Some say he has eyes that can make the fiercest beast turn tail…"

"Really?" Luffy said in awe.

"Yes…so be carefu-"

"Pirates sound so cool!!!" Luffy said excitedly.

Every marine in the bar fell over.

"YOU **MORON**!" said one of the marines that now had Luffy by the shirt and was shaking him. "Pirates are no good scum that would rather kill you than look at you!"

"O…O-okay…" Luffy said, now very dizzy.

With that the marine dropped the little boy.

Makino then came back with a bag of groceries. "Luffy, here you go…hmm? What are you doing on the floor?"

Luffy got back on his feet and grinned. "That man dropped me."

Makino's eyes landed on the marine and gave him a glare that could send even Shanks running for dear life. After handing the boy his groceries Makino shewed him off. "Go on now Luffy, Mr. Marine and I need to have a little…'talk'…"

Luffy gave a confused blink. "Okay…See you later Makino!" He then left the bar.

"So…." Makino began. "You like to pick on kids?"

When Luffy finally got home Ace had breakfast ready, he also had a narcoleptic fit and was now face flat in his breakfast.

Luffy laughed and popped the bubble that was coming out of his brother's nose.

"Huh?" Ace quickly shot up and looked around. "Oh, you're back…"

"Yep!" Luffy then took a piece of bacon that was sticking to Ace's cheek and ate it. "Hee, hee, yum!"

Ace shook his head. His brother was really odd sometimes.

"Hey Ace…" Luffy suddenly began.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"……….Nothing…." Luffy said with a sigh.

Ace thought this was strange, Luffy was always straight forward with everything, and he would speak what was on his mind (which, in some cases wasn't a good thing). So what was this about? Ace tried to pry further but Luffy would say no more. This fueled Ace's curiosity like gasoline does a flame, and it bothered him through out the day.

That night, Ace laid awake in bed, he just couldn't sleep. 'This is stupid…it was probably nothing! So why am I worrying so much? Just let it go…' With a satisfied nod Ace rolled on his side and tried to go to sleep. It wasn't long before he felt something climbing into his bed. Opening his eyes he saw Luffy.

"Ace…?" he seemed a little troubled.

Ace sighed and sat up. "What?" he said now irritated.

Luffy seemed to think over what he was going to say. "Today…I saw a bunch of marines a Makino's and one of them told me that pirates are very bad people…."

Ace blinked, he then sat up and Luffy continued to speak.

"Ace…are you going to be a bad person?"

So that's what was bothering him, Ace could now see Luffy was nervous to bring it up. "Of course not!" he said. "Marines **always** say pirates are bad…"

"Are they?" Luffy asked.

Ace sighed. "Of course not! There are good pirates too you know…"

"Really?" Luffy said worriedly. He then trapped his brother in a tight hug. "You won't be a bad person?"

Ace was to say the least, very surprised. He didn't know Luffy could even think that deeply, being how happy and carefree his younger brother was. "Don't worry, I won't be…"

"That's good…" Luffy said with a yawn. He then fell asleep.

Ace had to laugh a little. His brother was truly an enigma, he'll do things that'll make you think he's an idiot, and then turn around surprise you completely.

Two weeks later, Luffy turned seven, Ace gave him a fishing rod, that he made, for his birthday and they went to the dock to try it out.

"I got something!" Luffy said excitedly. He began to pull.

Ace watched his brother with amusement, and soon found himself laughing, Luffy managed to catch a boot.

"Aw…" the little boy said with disappointment. But then suddenly, something caught his eye. "Ace! Look!"

A ship was coming to the docks.

"Ace! Look at that flag!"

Fluttering in the wind was a black flag with a picture of a skull with a red scar over its left eye and crossed swords.

Ace's eyes widened. "Luffy! It a pirate ship!"

The boys watched as the ship sailed past them, looking up in awe, they could see a man standing by the railing of the ship. He was tall and wore a black cape, he had dark red hair and a scar matching the one on the flag, and on top of his head was a straw hat.

The Pirate grinned at the boys as the ship sailed past them.

Ace and Luffy stared with their eyes a wide as saucers. After the ship had docked, they saw the red haired pirate and the crew head towards Makino's bar.

"Should we check it out?" Ace asked. Being the more logical of the two, he knew Luffy would say yes, so if they ended up getting into to trouble, he could just say it was all Luffy's idea.

"Uh huh!" Luffy said with a nod.

Hook, line, and sinker. "Great, let's go!" Ace said with a mischievous grin. The two rushed off for the bar.

When they got there, the two only peeked into the bar. It was crowded and lively, laughter, singing, and gossip filled the air. Luffy searched the room there was no sign of the red haired pirate.

Suddenly both Ace and Luffy felt something felt something tap on their shoulders, looking back there found themselves face to face with the red haired man.

"Hi boys!" he said cheerfully.

The two boys froze, for a good minute they stood there staring. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Ace and Luffy screamed as though the man had just given them a death threat.

The red haired man gave a confused blink.

Suddenly a man with long black hair came out of the bar. "Oi, Captain, what's going on out here?"

Ace and Luffy slowly turned around and looked up at him, panic written all over their faces.

The red haired man quickly covered the boys' mouths before either one would scream again. "Oh nothing really Ben, just seems that these boys wanted in on some of our fun!" he said with a grin.

Ben sighed. "Right, you always did have a soft spot for kids…" he mumbled as he walked back into the bar.

Suddenly Luffy and Ace felt their hair being ruffled. "Sorry to have given you two a scare…" the pirate said with a laugh. "The name's Shanks!"

----

VTM: X3 Sweet! Chapter 4 is done! Sorry to end it like that, but I'm saving it for the next chapter, heh, heh, role models, jealousy, the whole shebang! XD Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, it was actually pretty hard to write (sweat drop). And for any who are interested, stop by my forum, VTM's Ace and Luffy Corner, maybe you can give me a hand with some future fics…R&R! And please, no flames…


	5. Jealousy

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from One Piece.

VTM: Oi! Sorry for taking so long on updating, I was working on my next One Piece fic 'Island of Lost Dreams', I got Chapter one done! XD I was having a hard time with it (still don't know if it's ready or not…). Anyway, on to more important news, thank you reviewers!

Spellcaster Hikaru: Shanks does indeed rule! XD I hope you'll like this chapter…

Raptor the Predator: We all wonder about the marines…-.-; I have people like Garp….Just kidding, not sure if I'll have them pop up again…But thanks for reading, you rock!

TrunksgirlBlaze27: I'm glad it made you laugh! And thank you for reading! You also rock!

firefistACE888888: I'm happy you liked that little deep conversation between Ace and Luffy, hope you enjoy this update!

Sunshineonwhitehill: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it, thank you for reading! XD

trixiebell: Shoot! I thought I forgot something! (bangs her head on desk, swirly eyes) ouch….But I'm not going to rewrite it…And as for my forum thing, you can get to it through a link in my profile, but I wouldn't bother now, I'm planning on taking it down soon…

VTM: Thank you all, you're the best! And now for warnings, I've upped the rating due to more harsh language here and there and I've now added chapter titles (a total first for me, sorry if they're a little lame)…but other than that…uh…nothing really, so sit back, relax, and enjoy! Let's get this show started!

---

The bar rang out with laughter, song, and gossip.

Ace watched as Luffy played with the pirates. Taking a sip from his glass of milk he sighed, Luffy seemed to be getting a long with them very well. It was almost like it was natural.

"Oi!"

Ace felt a hand clap onto his shoulder. Looking up he saw it was Shanks.

"Why such a long face? Kids are supposed to be happy!" he said with a grin.

"I'm fine…" Ace said flatly.

"Aw, come on kid, cheer up…that kid over there seems to be having the time of his life!" Shanks pointed to Luffy who was laughing along with a few of the pirates.

"That's my little brother…" Ace said with an eyebrow twitch. A strange feeling surged through him, and the more he talked to this man it just got worse and worse.

"Ah, I see…" Shanks said with a nod. "He's a real party animal! My kind of guy!" With that he broke out into a hardy laugh.

Ace's eyebrow twitched again. "Grr…"

"Hmm? Are you mad?" Shanks asked a little surprised.

Ace slammed his glass down on the table and stood from his seat. "Luffy! Come on! We're going home!"

Luffy blinked confusedly. "But…I wanted to play some more…"

"Don't worry! We'll watch over the lad!" cried a few of the pirates.

"Yeah! I'll be back for dinner, okay Ace?" Luffy was grinning ear to ear.

"L-Luffy…" Ace was a little surprised, it was the first time Luffy wouldn't do as he asked.

Shanks clapped a hand onto Ace's shoulder again. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on him, he won't get into too much trouble…"

Ace opened his mouth to say something, but after no words came out he quickly closed it. He then turned and left in a huff.

Shanks blinked confusedly. "What's with him?"

Ben smirked a little. "He's the kids older brother…he's protective…I was talking to that Makino woman and she told me that they live by themselves not too far from here.

"Living on their own? At their age?" Shanks was a little surprised.

Ben shrugged. "Something about their granddad just shipping them off here one day…he was a really strict guy…he gave specific directions that they were to live by themselves. Something about teaching them independence…"

Shanks blinked. "The guy sounds like a fruit cake…" he said flatly.

Ben shrugged again. "I'd feel bad if it were Admiral Garp, I hear he puts his grandsons through hell…"

Shanks just laughed. "Yeah, these two are lucky!" If only he knew the irony of his words.

Meanwhile Ace was on his way home, why did he act like that? He mentally kicked himself for acting the way he did.

Finally reaching the rickety house Ace went inside, it was a little early to start dinner, but he needed something to do to get his mind off of things. A narcoleptic fit had then kicked in.

Ace woke up three hours later. Looking out the window he had noticed it was dark now. Funny, Luffy would've waken him up by now. "Luffy?" he called. No answer. No way, was he still at Makino's? Luffy hated the dark, he was probably still there. Getting up from the floor he rushed outside and began running for the bar.

"Really!? Then what happened?" said a familiar voice.

Ace stopped in his tracks. Not too far walking towards him was Shanks and Luffy. The red haired pirate looked up from the little boy and spotted Ace. "Hey there, sorry it's so late, just wanted to make sure your brother got home safely…"

"Uh…thanks…" Ace said.

Luffy then rushed over and hugged him. "Ace! I had so much fun! You should have stayed!"

Shanks walked over to the two boys. "So you'll make back home okay? I wouldn't mind walking with you-"

"We're fine." Ace said as he began to lead his brother away.

"Are you mad at me?" Luffy asked a little worriedly as he looked up at Ace.

"………………No."

The next day, Ace and Luffy ate breakfast without saying a word to each other. Whenever Luffy tried to say something some thing in the back of his mind told him not to for fear of making his brother upset.

'What was I getting so worked up about yesterday?' Ace asked himself. He then thought back when he saw his brother playing with the pirates. He shook himself from those thoughts and tried to think of other things. '……Luffy's been awfully quiet…' Thinking about the night before he then remembered that Luffy thought he was mad at him. Ace then got an idea. "Hey, you want to try fishing again today?"

Luffy grinned. "Yeah!"

Ace smiled. Now that was more like it, Luffy just wasn't Luffy unless he was happy.

That afternoon the two went down to the docks. Luffy watched his line with determination, Ace couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm gonna catch a big one just you watch!" Luffy declared.

This only caused Ace to laugh harder.

Then suddenly the two felt themselves being pushed forward.

SPLASH!

Ace's head popped up from the water, although he could swim a little, he was still just learning. He glared at the offending pusher and saw it was none other than Shanks.

"You jerk!" Ace shouted, trying to keep his mouth above the water.

"Oh come on…it was just a silly joke!" The pirate said between laughs.

"Grr…" Ace then noticed Luffy wasn't on the docks. Looking next to him he noticed bubbles coming from the water. "YOU IDIOT!"

Shanks immediately stopped laughing. "Huh?"

"Luffy **can't swim**!!!!" Ace screamed.

This took a good five seconds to click in Shank's head. "OH SHIT!" He then leaped into the water. He soon came back up with a limp, coughing Luffy in his arms. Soon all three were back on the docks. "Whew…That was clo-"

BONK!

Shanks was now nursing a nice new bump on his head.

Ace went on shouting at the pirate captain calling him things like "moron" and "idiot" and few other names that a kid his age would have gotten soap in his mouth for.

Now Shanks had been through many things in his life, he had faced off in fatal battles, been attacked by ferocious sea monsters, and seen sights that many had only dreamed of, but this was the first time ever that he was being chewed out by someone **half his size**. But then again, he couldn't blame the kid, what he did **was** pretty stupid.

"Achoo!"

The two then looked at Luffy who was shivering. He sneezed one more, Luffy needed to get home and dry off before he got sick.

Ace then went over to his brother and lifted him onto his back.

"Er…You need a hand?" Shanks asked. He then walked over to them. "Here, I'll carry him…" Shanks then hoisted the Luffy off of Ace.

Although a little reluctant, Ace led Shanks to their house.

Shanks blinked when he saw the little rickety thing. "**That's** your house?" Although he wanted to say 'Looks like it about to fall apart' a quick glare from Ace was enough to shut him up.

When they got to the door, Ace told Shanks he could take care of Luffy from there. Shanks sent Luffy down and the two went into the rickety house, which amazed Shanks that it didn't fall apart when Ace practically slammed the door in his face.

For the next few weeks Luffy was spending more of his time around Shanks and his crew. Although, at first Ace found it nice to have some time to himself for a change. Luffy would come back telling him about stories he had heard or things they had showed him. And soon Ace noticed a familiar feeling inside him growing more and more. And though he tried to shrug it off, it soon became clear, Portgas D. Ace was jealous. Not of Luffy, but of Shanks. His little brother had a new hero now, and it was beginning to eat away at him.

One night, Luffy was out late again. But Ace had expected him to be home soon, Luffy had gotten over his fear of the dark and would come home late sometimes, so Ace waited…and waited……and waited some more.

"Grr….What keeping him?"

And as if on cue there was a knock on the door. Ace went over and opened it, revealing Shanks with a sleeping Luffy in his arms. "Hey kid…" he said with a grin. "Luffy partied so hard that he passed out…"

Ace was quiet for a moment. "His room's this way…" He led Shanks through the small house, when they got to Luffy's room Shanks set the little boy on the bed.

He then looked at Ace. "Hey kid, can I have a word with you?"

Although a little surprised Ace nodded. "Sure…"

The two sat outside on the porch.

"…You know…I wasn't actually honest with you…" Shanks started. "You brother wasn't really partying…he was upset…"

Ace looked at him surprised. "What?"

"He said he thinks he's making you sad for some reason…" Shanks continued. "It's been bothering him for a while, and well, he just brought it up today…"

Ace had to admit, he didn't give Luffy enough credit sometimes, how he was able to see his jealousy really surprised him. "…………I…" Ace didn't know what to say, but then again, how could you say 'I'm jealous of you' to a guy like Shanks?

"I guess it's not easy, being an older brother…" Shanks said suddenly. "To be your little brother's hero, and then out of the blue having to share the spotlight with someone else…"

"How did you…" Ace quickly stopped himself from saying more.

"Makino told me." Shanks said with a grin. "And to honest, if I were in your shoes, I'd probably feel the same way…But you want to know something? You're no less the hero you were before to him…"

"………Really?"

Shanks gave a slight laugh. "Yep, you should hear how much he talks about you…"

Ace blushed a little.

Shanks clapped a hand onto Ace's shoulder. "See what I mean? So relax, and have some fun with us…It'd mean the world to Luffy…"

The next day…

"Hee, hee, hee!" Luffy laughed as he clung to his brother.

Shanks was right, Ace was still a hero in Luffy's eyes.

The two brothers sat next to the red haired captain. Makino then began serving out drinks.

"Hey Shanks…" Luffy began. "What are you drinking?"

"Rum! A drink of men!" Shanks said, giving his glass a raise.

Ace blinked. "Can we try?"

"Hmm……Luffy's too young……"

"Hey!"

"but…I guess just a sip wouldn't hurt you…" Shank handed the mug to Ace. "But just a **small **sip!" he stressed.

Ace took a small sip and set the glass on the counter. "……………………………..." He then fell to the floor.

The whole bar went silent.

"OH MY GOD I KILLED HIM!!!" Shanks shouted in panic, arms waving franticly.

Luffy just laughed and began poking his brother with a spoon.

Shanks went on rambling for a while until Ben tapped him on the shoulder.

"Uh, captain…you might want to take a closer look…"

"Eh…?" Shanks said in tiny whiney voice.

Ben pointed to Ace.

Shanks kneeled down and looked closely.

Ace was lightly snoring away.

"Oi! He's asleep!!!" all the pirates cried.

---

VTM: End of chapter 5! Ah yes, narcoleptic fits, I just thought it'd be funny to throw that in the end there…I hope no one minded panicky Shanks…I couldn't resist…(sweat drop) I hope you enjoyed, R&R! And please, no flames!


End file.
